LEAM 2016

The 12th annual Lodz East Asia Meeting took place at the Faculty of International and Political Studies on 2-3 June 2016. The conference was devoted to political, economic and social controversies and dilemmas in East Asia as well as ways of overcoming them. The keynote speech was delivered by President of the British Association for Japanese Studies, Professor Caroline Rose from the University of Leeds. In her lecture Professor Rose examined in detail the educational reform conducted by the Abe government and its possible impact on relations with China. The keynote speech was followed by a special panel on Sino-Japanese relations, chaired by Professor Rose.

At the end of the first day of the conference the participants were invited to a banquet in the Biedermann Palace. During the dinner they admired a performance by a Vietnamese musician playing on a traditional one-string instrument Dan Bau.

During both conference days the sessions focused on various dimensions of East Asian controversies: economic (“One Belt and One Road” initiative, regionalization in East Asia, economy and business in Asian context, successes and failures of Chinese economy, Europe-Asia relations), security (dynamics of the US “Pivot to Asia” strategy, geopolitical competition in Asia, evolution of Japan’s security policy), political (problems of law and democracy in East Asia, China’s IR theory and foreign policy, dimensions of Chinese politics) and social (Chinese culture and identity).

In total, 55 presenters from 16 countries (28 from Poland, 4 from Hungary, Thailand and Turkey, 2 from Australia, Russia and the United States, 1 from China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia and United Kingdom) participated in the 12th Lodz East Asia Meeting.